Serina climbed onto the boat, closed the gate in the railing, and shouted at Val that they were ready to go. Val was belowdecks feeding coal into the engine. Gia and another girl, Bellweather, who was also from a boat village, were navigating.

Ember stood at the stern of the ship, her arms on the gunwale, staring back at the island. Serina guessed she was thinking about Oracle. She wished she could offer some comfort, but she found it was hard for her to leave too. As relieved as she was, she did feel as if she was abandoning the women who’d died here—Oracle, Petrel, Jacana, Doll, Val’s mother, and all the others. Too many others. Maybe one day the volcano would erupt again, and all the women who’d been committed to it would become part of whatever the island became next.

“How are you doing?” Serina asked Maris, who was standing nearby, her hands curled around the railing.

“The memories of my voyage here are a little too fresh,” she said with a small grimace. “But at least we’re going in the opposite direction.”

“And there are no chains,” Serina said, smiling. “This victory is yours, Maris. You helped us when we needed it most. Thank you.”

Maris raised her chin. When she’d come down from the cliffs, her hands had shaken so badly she could barely hold her firearm. But she’d shown no inclination to hide or wallow.

Helena put her arm around Maris and leaned her head on her shoulder. Together they watched Mount Ruin shrink behind them.

Serina moved down the deck, checking next on Mirror and the other injured girls.

“How’s your arm?” she asked, nodding toward the more official bandage that was now wrapped around Mirror’s bicep.

She made a face. “Hurts a lot. But it’s stopped bleeding. One of the girls from Hotel Misery stitched me up. She wasn’t sure… Well, it was deep. We’ll see how it heals.”

Serina put a hand gently on her shoulder, careful not to jostle her. “There’ll be proper doctors in Azura. They will make sure it heals as it should.”

Anika stood at the opposite rail, her back to Mount Ruin. Serina wove through the press of bodies to reach her. Anika didn’t acknowledge her.

“I know it feels like we’re going in the wrong direction,” Serina said. “But you’ll get back to your family, Anika. I believe that, I truly do.”

Anika closed her eyes and let the sunlight dance across her face. “Right now,” she said, “I’m just happy to be moving. This is the first time I haven’t felt imprisoned, maybe in my whole life.” She opened her eyes and turned to Serina. “I want my sisters to feel this way.”

Serina gave her arm a brief squeeze. “I know.”